


Love Like Never Before

by stylinsondaze



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Autumn, Blow Jobs, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Eventual Smut, Forests, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mentions of past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:46:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8407471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinsondaze/pseuds/stylinsondaze
Summary: Harry, Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Niall meet as children while on winter holiday. Twenty years later, they reunite in the same woods where they met and love blooms.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lourryalrightee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lourryalrightee/gifts).



> I wrote this last year for an autumn fic exchange, but it was never revealed. It has been over a year, so I thought I would just go ahead and post it. Sorry lourryalrightee! I hope you still want to read this!

This wasn’t the way Louis was supposed to spend his Christmas holiday. He had been promised a trip to Disney World in Florida for his birthday. He was after all turning _10 years old_. It was a pretty big deal if you asked him. But his parents had decided that his sisters were too young for such a big trip, especially Felicite who was only a year old. So his dream holiday was postponed, and instead Louis found himself wrapped up in full winter attire, dragging a branch across the snow. Had this been last year, Louis would have definitely cried, but he wasn’t a little boy anymore and he knew they had to do what was best for his sisters. It didn’t keep him from complaining, just a little though.

“Snow.” He mumbled to himself. “I wanted sun and I got snow…again.”

He continued kicking snow and absentmindedly talking to himself until distant voices caught his attention. He had been specifically told not to stray too far from their cabin, but he couldn’t help but walk closer to the voices. They were coming from two boys who looked to be about his age.

“I’m just saying… it’s a little weird.” One of the boys said.

The other boy was looking down at his feet, and he looked like he was on the brink of crying.

“What’s going on here?” Louis asked, dropping his branch on the cold ground.

One of the boys turned to look at him, but the other one would not lift his gaze.

“I’m Louis.” He tried again after neither answered him.

“Hi, Louis, I’m Niall. And this is Harry.”

“Hi Niall. Hi Harry.”

Harry didn’t say anything.

“Why is he sad?” Louis asked Niall.

“I don’t know. He was putting on like lipstick or something. I just said it was weird.”

Louis furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that true Harry?”

Harry looked up shyly and nodded. “It’s not lipstick, though.” He spoke softly. “It’s lip balm.”

“Well, whatever this is,” Niall said waving it around in his hand “It’s weird. Boys shouldn’t put it on.”

Harry was seconds away from breaking into tears. Louis could tell.

“I don’t think it’s weird…Here, give it to me.” Louis said taking the honey lip balm from Niall. “Put it on, Harry. It’s not weird.”

Harry shook his head, keeping his eyes on the ground. “It _is_ weird.”

“Oh, come on.” Louis said, a little louder. Harry finally lifted his face to look at him.

Louis uncapped the balm and put some over his own lips, then without thinking moved his hand toward Harry’s face and gently dabbed it over his. It left their lips smooth and glossy and it had a sweet taste. Harry beamed and Louis smiled back at him.

“See? It’s not a big deal, is it boys?”

And it really wasn’t. Not to Louis, at least. He was used to standing up for Charlotte at the playground _and_ to playing “makeover” with her.

“Here, you can have it back Harry.” Louis said, handing him the lip balm.

“My sister will be upset if she finds out I took it from her.” Harry said mostly to himself.

Louis put the lip balm in his pocket. “Just say I took it.” He said nonchalantly with a shrug.

Niall just stared at them, looking a little confused by what he had just witnessed, so Louis spoke up again. “So what are we doing? My parents said I can play outside until it’s time for dinner.”

“I just met Harry today and I was going to take him to see my friends from yesterday. You can come with us if you want.”

Niall led them through some snow-powdered trees, over to the other cabins not too far from where they were staying. They met up with Zayn and Liam. Zayn was a little quiet and seemed to hide behind Liam a bit, but they hit it off as much as five young boys who had just met could. They were trying to decide what to do when Louis got the brilliant idea that the oldest would get to be the leader.

“I’m eight!” Niall shouted enthusiastically.

“I’m eight too.” Liam said.

“Me too,” Zayn added. “Almost nine.”

Everyone turned to Harry who said softly “I’m seven, but I’ll be eight soon.”

“Well _I’m_ going to be 10 _tomorrow_ , so you boys give me some ideas and I’ll choose what we do first.” Louis said proudly.

“We can look for animals in the woods.” Niall suggested.

“We can go to my cabin and watch a movie.” Liam said and Zayn seconded.

“We can play hide and seek.” Harry put forward.

“That’s for babies!” Niall exclaimed.

Louis ran his hand over his chin, seemingly deep in thought. “No, of course it’s not for babies. I like that idea, Harry. Let’s do that.”

No one disagreed with Louis; he was the leader after all. Harry was beyond excited that he had gone with his suggestion.

So that’s how they spent the rest of the day, and it surprisingly turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone. They quickly formed a bond just by taking turns to find each other. Their game ended when they came across a deer with a fawn and Louis told everyone to be quiet. They managed to follow them further into the woods without scaring them away.  Harry began to get worried, saying they should start heading back, so naturally Louis tried to calm him.

“It’s ok, Harry we’ll make it back before it’s dark. We’re haven’t gone too far.”

When that didn’t seem to work, Louis tried distracting him by telling Harry he looked like the fawn.

“I do not.” Harry opposed as they began to walk back to the cabin area.

“Sure you do, your hair is the same color as its fur, and you both have big eyes.”

Harry placed his index finger over his eyelid and his thumb right under his bottom lashes, stretching his eye open as he pondered what Louis was saying.

“…And you’ll be with your mum soon, too. Right boys?”

The three boys agreed in unison, and Harry seemed to have gotten his mind off what was troubling him, tugging at his hair probably wondering if it really was the same color as the little deer’s fur. They got back in just a couple of minutes, but they returned to the sight of their parents spread out around the cabins with terrified expressions on their faces.

“There they are!” shouted one of the women.

Harry ran to his mum with arms open wide and the rest of the adults rushed over to their children. Their dialogues blended together, a mixture of “Why didn’t you tell us where you were going? and “We were so scared…about to go on a search party…never do that again…so glad you’re safe.” coming from the parents with apologies coming from the kids.

The families all met each other properly, under much better circumstances than their initial encounter. They talked and laughed a little now that the frightening experience was behind them, and they all gladly agreed that at least their kids had found a nice little group to spend the holiday with.

The next day was Christmas Eve, which of course meant that Louis was officially 10 years old. He got his birthday present as soon as he woke up: the two video games he had been wanting and secretly knew he would get. Once his little celebration ended and his parents started working on that night’s special dinner, Louis got dressed and decided to go out and find his new friends.

He found Niall and Harry right away. They were sitting in front of Niall’s cabin, playing with dinosaurs and toy soldiers. Louis couldn’t wait to show off his present so he invited the boys over to play his new games. Harry explained that he couldn’t run off without telling his mum again, so he went to the cabin right next to Niall’s to ask her if he could go. In the meantime, Louis asked about Liam and Zayn, and Niall told him that they were watching a movie at Liam’s because they wouldn’t be allowed to play outside that day. Harry returned smiling wide and Niall peeked his head inside to announce that he was going to Louis’.

The three boys took turns playing against each other, and if Louis let Harry win after he lost against Niall, that was his secret to keep.

“So how come you got your gifts already?” Niall asked during his match against Louis.

“This is just my birthday present.” Louis answered. “I’ll get my Christmas gifts tomorrow morning.”

“Oh yeah that’s right.” Niall responded.

“Happy Birthday, Louis!” Harry exclaimed from the sofa behind the other two boys.

“Thank you, Harry.” Louis said and turned around to face him, costing him the game.

“Yes! I win again!” Niall shouted. “That’s two wins. Come on birthday boy, you lost twice already.”

“I guess we’re just going to keep playing until I win, then.”

“Your parents are nice, Louis.” Harry stated as they took a snack break. “Gemma and I don’t get presents this year.”

“Why not?” Louis asked

Harry shrugged. “Mum just said we couldn’t, but she’s going to get us lots of toys next Christmas.”

“What’s the point of Christmas if you don’t get presents?” Niall asked in between bites of crisps.

Louis softly nudged Niall with his elbow. “You don’t need presents, Harry. And I’m sure your mum will buy you and your sister all the toys you want next year.”

Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded in agreement.

When they weren’t with their families, the five boys spent the rest of their time in the woods attempting to build snowmen and having snowball fights. They also visited each other’s cabins where each of their parents filled their tummies with biscuits, hot cocoa, tea, and what was left of Christmas dinner. They had such a great time together that they completely forgot that their friendship was temporary and that they would soon be returning to their respective hometowns.

Niall was the first to leave. He said goodbye to the other four and their families, and although they had only known each other about a week, it wasn’t easy on any of the boys.

And it didn’t get any easier. Zayn left next, and Liam followed later that day. When it was Louis’ turn to go, Harry, his mum, and sister went over to say goodbye. While his parents said goodbye to Harry’s mum and Lottie said goodbye to Gemma, Louis made a spilt second decision and dug through the things they had packed in the back. He couldn’t step out of the car since little Fizzy was already asleep in her car seat, so he stuck his head out the window and called Harry over.

“Come around the other side.” He shouted and Harry followed his instructions.

Louis opened the door. “I want you to have this.” He said handing Harry the Spiderman action figure he was so excited to unwrap on Christmas morning. “You should at least have one toy this year.”

Harry’s eyes lit up and he smiled from ear to ear as he accepted Louis’ gift. “Thank you, Louis!”

“Oh,” Louis said a little quieter. “And since I don’t know where I left Gemma’s lip balm, here.” He said discretely handing Harry a shiny, new stick of pink lip gloss.

“I took it from Lottie’s new make-up set. She has a lot so she won’t notice…You can just tell Gemma it’s from you.”

Harry couldn’t possibly smile any wider. “Thank you, Louis.” He repeated.

Their families said their final goodbyes and the car doors opened.

Before Harry could take off, Louis ruffled up his hair and smiled back. “Goodbye, Little Fawn.”

Harry walked away slowly with a small wave and a big smile still on his face, fingers wrapped tightly around his new Spiderman. Louis shut the door and continued to stare at Harry through the window, who stared back until the car started and they began to drive away.

Louis couldn’t believe it, but he was _really_ glad Disney World was cancelled.

XXX

Nothing ever seemed to go his way. At 18, he moved out on his own to go to Uni. He didn’t know anyone and he had trouble meeting people. He never admitted it to his parents though, because they had encouraged him to stay at home until he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. So when they called, he always made sure to make it sound like he was having the time of his life. The truth was that he felt alone and scared and wanted to go back home. At 20, he finally felt comfortable with being out on his own, but a new obstacle was thrown at him when he ended up falling for his new roommate, who later became his first boyfriend, and then the first guy to break his heart when he picked an internship abroad over their 2 year romance. He came out to his parents at 22 and he finally felt free…until he felt them slowly becoming more and more distant. They didn’t disapprove of his sexual orientation, but they did disapprove of his dating habits when they found out he saw a different guy almost every night. They wanted nothing more than for him to find someone to settle down with, but he wasn’t ready to move on from his first real relationship.

He was 23 when he logged into Facebook after weeks of purposely avoiding it.  He wasn’t expecting to find anything other than the usual passive aggressive posts, rants, and break-ups and make-ups. But he had a message, which was actually kind of out of the ordinary.

He clicked on the icon to read:

_Do you have two little sisters and a heart of gold?_

Louis was confused. For one, it was way too early to be online; he hadn’t even had his morning tea yet. And, he was pretty sure he wasn’t even friends with the person who had messaged him.

He chose to respond to this “Harry Styles” anyway.

_Louis:_ _I have sisters…not sure about the heart of gold though._

He got a response almost immediately.

_Harry: Charlotte and Felicite?_

“Okaaay, this is odd.” Louis said to himself. 

He thought about changing his privacy settings so strangers wouldn’t be able to message him, but he was curious to find out what this guy was getting at and what he could possibly want with his teenage sisters.

_Louis: Yes. How do you know them?_

_Harry: Yaaaaaaaaay!!!!!! I found youuuuuuu!!!!!!_

_Louis: I’m sorry, but do I know you?_

_Harry: You don’t remember? :(_

_Harry: Do you remember Niall, Liam and Zayn?_

And how could Louis forget? He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about those boys just about every Christmas. He thought about his answer before replying.

_Louis: You’re that Harry? I thought your last name was Cox? That’s what my parents said your mum had told them._

_Harry: Noooo, that’s just my mum’s last name. Mine’s Styles as you can see :)_

It made sense now. Again, Louis would be lying if he said he hadn’t attempted to find Harry on social media…and the other boys as well, of course. But now he understood why his searches had turned out unsuccessful. He had been using the wrong last name.

Louis took his time again, thinking of what to say next.

_Louis: Well, good for you mate. Harry Styles is definitely a much better name than Harry Cox, with all due respect to your mum._

They fell into conversation so easily. Harry told Louis all about how he had only gotten the last name of one of the boys at the woods and how he had found Niall Horan on Facebook a year ago. After being friends for months and messaging back and forth quite often, Harry and Niall decided to try to find the rest of their cabin crew. They didn’t have to look through many “Zayns” to find the one they were looking for. Zayn was happy to reconnect with them, and confessed that he had always wanted to look for them too, but wasn’t sure if it would be weird. He also told them that he never forgot Liam’s last name was Payne, because it rhymed with Zayn. Sure enough, they found him too and all they were missing was Louis.  

During one of their first online conversations, Liam told Harry that he remembered Louis had said his friends at home called him “Tommo” because of his last name. Thus began Harry’s quest to find Louis among countless pages of guys named “Louis Thomas” “Louis Thompson” “Louis Tompkins” “Louis Tomlin” and finally “Louis Tomlinson.”

When Louis asked what he meant by “heart of gold” Harry replied that he had never forgotten how Louis had gone out of his way to cheer him up and make him smile. Harry also told him he still had the Spiderman toy Louis gave him 13 years ago. Louis couldn’t keep the smile off his face for the rest of the day.

The five boys stayed in touch over the years. When Louis was 25, Liam was the first one to suggest they get together again. They all liked the idea, but were unable to make it happen due to their schedules and different things going on in their lives.

At first they opted to stay in touch only through Facebook, sort of to test the waters until they all got comfortable with each other again. That did not take too long and eventually they exchanged numbers, allowing them to stay connected and have even more random, sometimes just plain outrageous conversations.

Louis was approaching 30 years old. He was now a proud business owner. He had combined his love of tea and music to open his Cup of Tea Café, which featured nightly performances by local acts and the occasional bigger names. His first café had been a hit right away and he now owned three locations.

Louis was having a lazy day late in September, cuddling up with his cat Addie, whose name was inspired by the brand Louis most often chose to wear. It had been a pretty uneventful day, which was a little out of the ordinary for him. Just as he was beginning to wonder why no one had called or texted him that evening, as if on cue he heard his phone going off on the kitchen table. He put Addie down, much to her dismay.

“Aw, don’t look at me like that, love.” He told his cat as he walked over to grab his phone.

At this hour, he was expecting a call from his mother who still liked to check up on him weekly, or one of his many “friends” who were lonely and in need of a good time. And truthfully, Louis was hoping for the latter, seeing as he never denied any of those friends the chance to spend the night with him.

He was wrong. It was a text from Niall. Upon further inspection, Louis noticed that it was a group text, but it wasn’t their usual group that included all 5 of them. This one only included Liam and Zayn in addition to Louis and Niall.

_Niall: Big news, lads. It isn’t good. Answer me as soon as you see this._

This wasn’t the usual tone Niall had when texting. He was always the most easy-going of the bunch. But, knowing him, the news could be that his favorite item was taken off the menu of that restaurant he went to every other day.

Nevertheless, Louis did as the text told and replied immediately.

_Louis: What is it Niall?_

Zayn and Liam followed soon after.

_Liam: What’s up, Nialler?_

_Zayn: Everything alright, Ni?_

Niall didn’t answer right away, and Louis began to wonder what could possibly be so important that it couldn’t have waited until morning. He got his answer soon enough, but it definitely was not what Louis was expecting.

_Niall: Harry’s wedding is off._

Louis got a feeling in the pit of his stomach, something he couldn’t quite name yet.

_Louis: As in, postponed?_

_Zayn: What??_

_Liam: What happened?_

_Niall: Not postponed. Cancelled._

_Niall: The bastard cheated._

_Liam: Harry?_

_Niall: No, Jeremy._

Louis could name the feeling now. It was disgust.

_Zayn: WHAT???!!!!_

_Zayn: I’m going to kill him._

_Liam: How’s H?_

Louis didn’t reply.

_Niall: Not good._

_Niall: So, I know we always say we’re going to do this and never do it, but I think now’s the perfect time for us to finally get together again._

_Liam: Do you really think that’s what Harry needs?_

_Niall: Yeah. He needs support._

_Zayn: I don’t know Ni. If I was in his shoes going on holiday is the last thing I would want._

_Niall: We can’t just let him sit alone and cry._

Sit alone and cry. The words stung Louis.

Harry brought so much joy to everyone around him that Louis couldn’t even picture him in such a state. He still had nothing to say. Didn’t know where to start, really.

_Niall: He’s with Gemma but he doesn’t want to see other family. Not even Anne. He said he’s too embarrassed. And Jeremy was a jealous asshole, so H didn’t have a lot of friends. He gave them up for him._

Louis had no idea. It’s funny how social media can completely warp what you think or see. Of course he had noticed that Harry never posted any pictures with anyone besides his mum, his sister, and his fiancé, but Louis had always thought that Jeremy and Harry were so happy together  that they didn’t need any one else. Never did he think that Jeremy kept Harry from having friends. That disgust in his stomach was quickly spreading to his entire body.

Louis had been so deep in thought that he didn’t notice he had missed quite a few texts from the other boys.

_Niall: Louis???? You in, mate?_

Louis quickly read over what he had missed of the conversation and saw that they had already agreed on what days they would take off of work, and Niall would take care of making reservations and getting Harry to agree.

_Louis: I’m in_

XXX

After spending hours alone singing along to the radio in his Mini Cooper, Louis was about to reach his destination and he had to admit he was a little nervous. After all, he was going to be spending a few days in the woods with 4 guys he hadn’t seen in person in two decades. Sure, they got along really well when they were kids and they were very much a part of each other’s lives, but he didn’t know if they were the same people he had gotten to know from behind his cell phone or computer screen.

Not to mention the fact that the reason they were finally meeting up was to support their heartbroken friend. Louis had wondered over the years what it would be like to see the guys again, but he never pictured that they would be coming together to console Harry for being cheated on. It made him feel sick.

There was no denying that Louis had always felt protective over Harry since the very first day they met. Since then, he had seen Harry go from a quirky 21 year old to an engaged 25 year old to the now 27 year old that words could never describe. Harry just radiated confidence and Louis was willing to bet not a single person that knew him had one bad thing to say about him. He couldn’t imagine what he was going through and was a little scared to find out.

It was now mid-October and Louis was pulling up to the same woods where he met Harry, Niall, Liam and Zayn all those years ago. They were able to get a three bedroom cabin. It wasn’t the biggest or the best, but they were glad they got something on such short notice so they weren’t complaining.

When Louis arrived, he saw that there was already a light blue Beetle parked out front. He stepped out of his car inhaling the fresh, crisp fall air. He threw a black duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way to the cabin, but before he could knock, the door opened.

“Louis!” a very excited Liam Payne shouted with his arms wide open.

“Heeeeeey!” Louis replied equally as excited as he got swept up into Liam’s embrace.

Over Liam’s shoulder he saw Zayn standing a couple steps back.

“Zaynie, you’re here, too!”

“Yeah, just got here.” Zayn replied, pulling Louis in for a quick hug.

“Did you run here, pal?” Louis asked jokingly.

“No, I um, I’m just a little out of breath from going up and down the stairs, taking bags up and…yeah.” Zayn struggled to let out.

“Oh, no I meant, there’s only one other car outside.”

“Oh! That. Yeah, I took the train.”

Louis simply nodded.

Just then, the door flew open.

“What’s up, party people!”

And honestly, leave it to Niall to make a party out of a trip specifically designed to support a grieving friend.

“Niall!” They all exclaimed in unison.

More hugs were exchanged and they talked a bit.

“Just be careful with what you say, please.” Louis offered.

“Why do you look at me when you say that?” Niall asked.

“Who should we be looking at?” Liam asked.

“Me.” Niall admitted.

They were interrupted by the low rumble of a motorcycle.

“Sounds like it’s getting closer” Zayn said “I think he’s here.”

They looked to the door, which Niall had left partially open. A minute or so later, it started to open slowly revealing a tall figure. Louis held his breath.

“My brothers!” The deep voice boomed loudly through the cabin. “Bring it in!”

They looked at each other and then at Harry, who was setting his helmet down. They then slowly stepped into his arms in silence.

“You’re all just a tiny bit shorter in person. Let me take a good look at you.”

He certainly didn’t sound heartbroken. And he looked…well he looked gorgeous. Louis already knew that of course, but admiring his beauty through mostly black and white online pictures and seeing it in person were two entirely different things. He was breathtaking. Long legs in skin tight black jeans, lean muscle that was still clearly visible even under his grey knit jumper, and chocolate brown curls tamed by a black headscarf with small light pink flowers printed on it. His pictures could never do him justice.

“Can’t believe we’re here,” Harry said looking around the cabin “After all these years.”

“How are you, mate?” Liam finally asked what they were all wondering.

“Amazing, Liam.” Harry replied.

The other guys remained silent.

“I am here with my four pals and we are going to have a great time, just like we did the first time we were here.”

No one seemed to buy it, but they played along.

“Ok so there are only three bedrooms so we’re going to have to pick roomies.” Niall announced as he and Harry brought their bags in.

“I pick Zayn!” Liam announced gleefully.

“I call dibs on Louis.” Harry said throwing an arm over the smaller man.

“Don’t fight over me, lads. There’s plenty to go around.” Niall said sarcastically.

“Don’t take it personal, Ni.” Zayn began. “We’ve just seen Amy’s posts about your snoring problem.”

“And he mumbles in his sleep!” Liam added as they all walked upstairs to their rooms.

Apparently Zayn and Liam had already picked a room before the other guys had even gotten there. Harry and Louis let Niall pick next, so he wouldn’t feel too bad about being alone.

After they settled in, they decided to drive over to a nearby store to pick up some food for their stay. Niall and Harry rode with Louis and Zayn rode with Liam.

“This place wasn’t around the first time we came here, was it?” Liam asked.

“Nope, the nearest store was a lot farther back then, and it wasn’t even worth the drive.” Harry replied as he put some spices in his basket.

Louis just stuffed a bunch of greasy, sugary, high-calorie junk into his without even giving it a second thought.

“Lou, is that really all you’re going to buy?” Harry asked in fake disapproval.

Louis looked at what he had gathered and nodded.

“And just how are you planning on making proper meals out of that?”

“Harry, I was a struggling college student for years, you’d be surprised what I can make a proper meal out of.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t a struggling student anymore. You are a very successful _grown_ man and you should be eating like one. Now, come on.” Harry said as he smoothly slipped his hand in Louis’ “Let’s get you fed.”

Okay. First he called dibs and now they were walking around a cute little store, shopping for fresh veggies and _holding hands_. Louis was fine. Totally calm and collected.

Harry picked up a green pepper with his left hand, studying it as he mindlessly rubbed his thumb over Louis’ knuckles. Louis was sure Harry was trying to kill him slowly and painfully. He let out a sigh of relief when Harry let go of his hand to grab more groceries.

So maybe Louis had developed somewhat of a crush on Harry over the years. It was a small crush. Tiny, barely even there. Harry never had to know, especially now. Now was probably the worst time for Louis to show any sign of what he felt for him, so that was something Louis would just have to keep to himself.

 

Back at the cabin, Louis, Niall, and Zayn sat around in the living area while Liam helped Harry prepare dinner. Once the food was ready, they took their seats at the table and the unspoken tension only grew thicker. It was very obvious that there was an elephant in the room, but as long as Harry didn’t bring it up, Louis wouldn’t either and he hoped that the others would do the same.

They caught up on everything from their families to their jobs to the latest concerts and music festivals they had attended and everything felt so easy. They got along perfectly, almost as if they had never parted ways as children. Harry was telling the boys that he absolutely loved working at the day care center but his dream was to open a bakery, when Niall interrupted.

“Yeah, you’re pretty talented, Harry. And with the prices they charge for cakes, I bet you’d make loads of money…especially around wedding season.”

Niall knew right away that he had fucked up and stuffed his mouth with food to keep himself quiet. There was an awkward silence that could not have been longer than a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

“Baby cakes!” Louis shouted suddenly.

The four men turned to look at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

“That’s where the money is, Harry.” Louis continued. “Have you seen what people are doing for baby showers nowadays? They go all out, with huge, gorgeous cakes. And don’t get me started on first birthday parties. Mum and Dan dropped a pretty decent amount for Doris and Ernest’s cakes when they turned one. It’s definitely not like when we were kids. Plus, you work with babies every day, so you’d be combining two things you love. Babies, Harry, that’s who you want to target.”

“Thank you, Louis.” The smile on Harry’s face made Louis’ heart ache a little. “I’ve made lots of birthday cakes before, but never for a baby shower. I will start practicing.”

“Good. And count on me for help, H. I’ve been told I’m pretty good at cracking eggs, and I can set the timer, help you whisk. You know, all the essential stuff.” Louis said with a smile, completely ignoring the fact that there was quite a bit of distance that separated them.

 

After dinner, they went outside and sat out front on the deck, enjoying the cool weather and taking in the peaceful sounds and scenery. It was so different from the first time. Back then, everything had been covered or at least sprinkled with snow, whereas now the leaves on the trees were beautiful shades of scarlet, yellow, and orange and rays of light still shone through as the sun began to set.

“Alright lads,” Niall began. “That’s enough sitting around. Let’s do something.”

“What do you want to do?” Louis asked.

“Let’s look for animals.” Niall said with a small smirk.

Liam caught on right away, saying “Let’s watch a movie.” Zayn nodded in agreement.

“Let’s play hide and seek!” Harry shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

Niall grabbed a small rock and threw it in Harry’s direction, sending it flying over his shoulder. “That’s for babies!”

Harry pouted and Louis bit his lip wishing he could kiss the pout away.

All boys turned to look at him and Louis feared he might have gotten caught staring at Harry for a bit longer than what could be considered normal.

“What?” Louis asked, heart starting to beat faster.

“Say your line.” said Zayn with a tiny smile.

Louis rolled his eyes, trying to act cool and not at all like he was worried his secret was written on his forehead. “It’s not for babies. Great idea, Harry.” He said monotonously, with a lot less enthusiasm than the first time he uttered those words.

Harry, Niall, Liam and Zayn went to hide while Louis counted. He should have probably felt a little foolish being a 29- almost 30- year old playing hide and seek with four men in their late twenties, but Louis was feeling better than he had all year.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted “Ready or not…” as he took off into the woods. He didn’t know if it was a coincidence or if he was looking specifically for him, but he found Harry first.

“Did you even try, Styles?” Louis said sneaking up behind him and resting his hands on Harry’s shoulders.

“Maybe.” Harry said, staying still, almost leaning into Louis’ touch. “Or maybe I just wanted you to find me.”

Louis hummed in response, ignoring the backflips his stomach was performing, and if you were to ask him he’d never be able to explain how he ended up on his tip toes, resting his chin on Harry’s shoulder and breathing in the smell of his hair. It wasn’t creepy. It wasn’t. “Help me find the rest, Curly.”

While they looked for the other three, they heard a faint noise and walked in its direction, trying to be sneaky so the others wouldn’t know they were close. They were shocked by what they found. Liam was lying on his back with Zayn lying on top of him. Liam’s hands were gripping tightly onto Zayn’s waist as he kissed him hungrily.

Harry put his hand over his mouth and looked at Louis with wide eyes. Louis stared back with his mouth slightly open, before pulling Harry by the arm until they were a safe distance away from the scene.

“That was...something.” Louis said softly with a look of utter shock still on his face. “Let’s just let them have their fun. God only knows how long they have wanted to do that.”

“Or how long they _have_ been doing it without telling us.” Harry replied with a huge smile.

“Or that.” Louis said, nodding.

 “What do you say we go looking for deer, Little Fawn?” Louis asked in an attempt to break the quiet they had slipped into, giving Harry a soft nudge with his elbow.  

Harry turned to look at him with a massive smile. “Or we could look for Niall.”

“Or Niall.” Louis agreed smiling back.

“I can’t believe you’re taller than me.” Louis said, trying to keep a conversation going.

“I can’t believe you’re still coming to my rescue.” Harry said with a quiet chuckle.

“What does that mean?”

“The baby cakes, Louis!”

“Oh, that. Well, I’ve never been fond of awkward silences…” Louis began “But… if you prefer silence, you don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t have to talk about it.”

Harry stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. “I hadn’t smiled since it happened…until I saw you.”

Louis’ heart skipped a beat.

“I didn’t think that just seeing you all again would cheer me up so quickly.”

Oh. Seeing _you all_. Of course, he was talking about the whole group, not just Louis in particular.

“And you deserve it Harry.” Louis said with a pat to Harry’s back. Feeling brave, he added “He has no idea what he lost.”

Before Harry could react to what Louis had said, Niall came out of nowhere. “Fucking finally! What took you so long?”

“Should we tell him?” Louis asked Harry.

“What?” Niall asked.

“We caught Zayn and Liam…” Harry began to speak but stopped abruptly when he saw the couple in question approaching them.

“There you are.” Liam said. “We’ve been looking for you.”

A mischievous smile spread over Louis’ face. “Where were you looking Liam? I wouldn’t think you’d have much luck finding us under Zayn.”

Harry snorted before gracefully throwing his head back in a fit of laughter. Liam’s eyes grew wide and a pink tint rushed over Zayn’s face.

“I…um…w-we…” Zayn stuttered.

Liam took Zayn’s hand in his and proudly announced “Zayn and I are together…officially now.”

“Oh, do tell. This is good.” Louis said.

“I knew something was up with you two, I just knew it.” Niall said to himself.

“This is going to sound absolutely crazy,” Liam began as the five of them started their walk back to the cabin. “But 20 years ago, I left these very woods knowing I was in love with Zayn.”

Zayn blushed even more and Louis shouted “You were 8 years old! You probably didn’t even know how to spell Zayn, and you were in love?”

Niall and Harry apparently found the whole thing hilarious because they couldn’t stop laughing and Niall’s face was about three shades pinker than Zayn’s.

“That’s adorable, Liam.” Harry said when he finally stopped laughing.

“I don’t know, it does sound pretty crazy, mate.” said Louis.

“It’s the truth, though.” Liam said. “And we’ve been talking for a few months…”

“Flirting.” Zayn corrected. “You just started flirting all of a sudden.”

“Well, I got tired of just looking at you and not doing anything about it.” Liam said in defense.

“And did you boys plan on getting here before us and getting it started? Or was that just a happy coincidence?” Louis asked.

The smile on Liam’s face and the red on Zayn’s cheeks said it all.

“Oh no!” Niall said. “Don’t tell us you…”

“Okay, can we stop talking about this now?” Liam asked. “You’re embarrassing my baby.”

“Ew please.” Louis said, feigning disgust. “I’d rather hear in explicit detail about how you got each other off than listen to that baby talk.”

“And I’d rather not know about your kink for finding out how your friends fuck, Tommo…and Zayn, I didn’t even know you liked boys.” Niall said as they arrived back at their cabin.

“I like Liam.” Zayn answered simply. “Always have.”

“So…” Niall started. “I guess that makes me the only one, huh? There must have been something in the air here that year.”

They all laughed at Niall’s nonsense.

“Yeah, Niall.” Louis said. “I’m sure it was the air that made us all gay. And… since it didn’t get you the first time, you know what that means, mate. You can’t escape it twice.”

XXX

They slept soundly that night, but were awoken bright and early the next morning.

“What is that?” Louis mumbled into the pillow as he stirred awake. He could hear Harry’s sheets as the younger boy tossed and turned.

“Hmm?” was all Harry offered in return.  

Suddenly, realization hit Louis. “Oh…my…Harry!”

Harry just groaned in response.

“I’m getting out of here.” Louis said quickly standing up.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked groggily.

“Don’t you hear that?”

Harry sat up and listened.

“Ugh, are they seriously…”

“Yes!” Louis answered as he quickly ran into the bathroom to change out of his sleeping clothes and into black jeans, a white tank and his jean jacket. When he came out, Harry was already dressed in all black and tying a purple silk headscarf around his head and Niall was throwing a gray hoodie on.

“Can you believe them?” Niall asked as they all stepped out of the cabin, feeling the cold October breeze.

“Well, now that the secret is out, I guess they want us all to hear how good they’re loving each other.” Louis said.

“Count me out. I have no problem with them doing it but I don’t want to _hear_ it.” Niall said. “Anyway, I’m going to the store to grab more food. You want anything?”

“Nothing for me, thanks.”

“Oh, can you bring me some cinnamon? I forgot it yesterday.” Harry said.

Niall nodded. “See you lads later.”

Harry and Louis walked aimlessly around the cabin area without saying a word. Harry wrapped his arms around himself and Louis looked up at the sky and huffed out a breath, feeling a little uneasy because the only noise that could be heard was that of the piles of leaves crunching underneath their feet.

They had been walking in silence for a couple minutes when Harry suddenly said “He cheated on me.”

Louis inhaled a breath and just nodded, not knowing what else to do or say. He didn’t want to tell Harry that Niall had already told them why his engagement had broken off.

“…with the only friend he let me keep.”

Louis remained quiet and nodded again, waiting for Harry to continue.

Harry anxiously kicked his tan boots through some leaves and kept his gaze down as he spoke again. “I walked in on them. In _our_ bed. One month before…” He stopped to take a deep, shaky breath. “I was supposed to be getting married next week, Louis.”

Louis said the only thing he could think of. “I’m sorry, Harry. I’m really, really sorry you had to go through that.”

“He’d been acting strange for months. Every time I’d bring up the wedding, he would change the subject, just shut me down or cut me off. I just thought he was nervous.” he said with a tiny humorless laugh.

Harry paused before going on. “…And you know what he told me, Louis? After his lover just ran out of there like a coward. After I fell to the floor, dizzy, screaming, feeling like I had been set on fire. He told me to stop overreacting. That it was nothing serious. That _he_ was just a meaningless fuck, and that I should be glad that _I_ was the one he wanted to marry. That _I_ was the one he would be coming home to every day.”

Louis felt like he was the one who had been set on fire now, and he could in no way comprehend how or why anyone would ever do such a thing to a boy so _beautiful_ on the inside and out. “That’s…disgusting.” was all he managed to get out.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “I threw up…many times. And then I left. I took my most important things. Photo albums, birth certificate, and other documents, just what I really needed and the clothes on my back and I left. I’ve been staying on Gemma’s couch. Literally on her couch. I get up to pee but that’s pretty much it.”

“It’s a good thing you found out who he was before you signed anything, though.” Louis said and stopped walking as Harry’s steps came to a halt.

“That’s what Gem says.” Harry replied, slowly bringing his tall frame down to sit on a fallen tree trunk. “But…I was so ready to be a husband.”

Louis sat down next to him and he didn’t know what came over him, but he so desperately wanted to say something, anything to get rid of the look of misery on Harry’s face.

“And you will be!” Louis exclaimed. “And a damn good one too, I have no doubt about it. Look at yourself. You have a good job that you’re passionate about, you can cook, you’re funny, you’re…you have an amazing personality. And Je-…I don’t even want to say his name. That _rat_ is going to run off with that asshole you used to call your friend and he’s going to think he’s happy. But you know what, Harry? One day, he’s going to wake up. And he’s going to realize he fucked up.”

Harry brought his knees up closer to his chest and balanced carefully so he wouldn’t slip off the trunk. He didn’t say anything or look at Louis. He just listened, so Louis kept going.

“He fucked up bad…Because he had it all.” Louis continued. “He was going to be your husband and he gave that up. For what? For a cheap fuck? He gave up curls and dimples and green eyes and _horrible_ jokes for a meaningless orgasm? And you know what else, Harry? He’s going to want you back. He’s going to think about you every second of every day. And when he sleeps he’s going to dream about you. And he’ll cry. Believe me, he’ll cry. He’ll fucking curse the day he laid a hand on that backstabbing little bitch of a ‘friend’. And he’ll get drunk off his nasty cheating ass and he’s going to call you. And let me tell you something, Harry. It’s going to be too late. Too fucking late! Because you’re going to be all husbanded up. He’s going to regret everything about his sad, miserable life. But _you_ , you’re going to be happily married to someone that’s crazy about you. You’re going to be loved by someone that deserves to be loved by you. And you’re going to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Your bakery, your husband, and tiny little curly headed babies.

By the time Louis had run out of breath, Harry had his face buried into his knees, sobbing into them.

“Don’t cry, Harry. Don’t fucking cry. You’ve given him enough of your tears.”

Harry continued to cry, even louder.

“H?” Louis said gently placing his right hand over Harry’s left shoulder. “You’re shaking.”

Harry let out a broken sob and muttered the word “Cold.”

Louis quickly sprang into action and slipped his jean jacket off, placing it around Harry’s shoulders and hoping it would offer at least a little warmth.

Harry gripped his fingers into the jacket but continued to cry.

“It’s okay, H. Let it out.”

“I needed that, Lou.”’ Harry said after a minute or two of crying, wiping away some of the tears.

“Don’t cry for him anymore, please.”

“I’m not. I’m just- God, I hope you’re right.”

“I am.” Louis said, completely sure of himself.

Harry slipped his arms into Louis’ jacket and finally lifted his head to face Louis. And that’s when he got the first glimpse of it.

“I hadn’t seen you in a tank...not even in pictures.” Harry said as he smoothly ran his fingers over Louis’ arm with a smile.

Louis panicked and said the first thing that came to mind. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“I wasn’t even thinking that.” said Harry, with his hand still placed over Louis’ tattoo of a heart and a stag. “I’d just never seen this tattoo. I had seen the one on your chest, but not this one.”

Louis nodded and chose not to say anything else for the moment.  He had lied to Harry. The tattoo had everything to do with him, regardless of how many times he had lied to himself about it too.

“How are you not cold out here?” Harry asked, changing the subject. “I’m freezing even with your jacket.”

He blew on his hands and rubbed them together before sticking them inside the pockets of Louis’ jacket. He pulled something out and stared at it in his hand, then looked at Louis with a cross between a smile and a smirk on his face.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Oh yeah…I almost forgot.” said Louis, taking it from Harry’s hands.

It was a golden stick of lip balm. Honey flavored, just like the one that had belonged to Gemma when they were kids. It was even the same brand. Louis had found the original one in his pocket when he unpacked once the Tomlinsons were back home. He kept it for a really long time, a lot longer than he would like to admit. And he probably would still have it if he hadn’t moved so many times.

 Louis twisted the cap off, breaking off the seal “Alright Little Fawn, pucker up.”

“Louis.”

“Come on, we gotta recreate childhood memories. You made me play hide and seek.”

Harry gave in and puckered his lips a little. Louis mimicked the action, involuntarily puckering his own as he gently spread some of the velvety substance over Harry’s lips.

“There you go.” Louis said pulling his hand away, and then staring at the way Harry ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

“Tastes the same.” Harry said simply.

“Can I…” Louis began, but stopped.

“Can you what?” Harry asked.

“Taste.” 

Before anything else could be said or done, they were interrupted by the sound of Niall’s engine getting closer.

Louis was thankful for his perfect timing, because he honestly had no idea what he was trying to accomplish or where the moment he had just shared with Harry was going.

“I think Niall’s here.” Harry said, snapping Louis out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, we should go back inside…Hopefully Zayn and Liam are done for the day.”

The fivesome spent the rest of the day mostly inside. Harry brought out the ingredients he needed and was busy baking, while the other four sat around the kitchen telling him jokes and crazy stories that had him in tears, clutching his stomach even though they really weren’t _that_ funny. The sweet scent of pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles quickly spread all throughout the cabin. Almost as soon as they were out of the oven Louis, Niall, Zayn and Liam attacked them, ignoring Harry’s pleas to be careful and wait until they cooled down. Harry just shook his head and chuckled at his hungry friends.

They watched a couple scary movies as they ate, savoring all the sugar and spices and absorbing the warmth and the delicious aroma that surrounded them. Later in the night, they laughed until they were breathless; playing a ridiculously vulgar “fill in the blank” card game app that Louis had insisted they all download. 

Liam was the first to call it a night after Zayn- who was lying with his head on Liam’s lap- began to doze off. He assisted the very sleepy Zayn to their room and the rest followed to their own beds.

 

Louis woke up in the middle of the night and quietly shuffled his sock-clad feet to the toilet. On his way back to bed he rubbed his still heavy eyes and blinked as he looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand separating his and Harry’s beds. He read 3:18 a.m. and blinked some more, looking around and realizing that Harry wasn’t in his bed. Louis yawned and stretched. He thought about crawling back into bed, but it wasn’t long before curiosity got the best of him and he walked around the cabin, silently looking for Harry. When he was downstairs, he saw a dim light shining through the living room windows and figured out that Harry was probably outside.

Louis saw Niall’s gray hoodie lying on the sofa and put it on before stepping outside.

“What are you doing out here, H?” he said softly, almost whispering as he approached the younger boy.

Harry looked up from where he was sitting on the top step of the front deck stairs. He smiled warmly at Louis and Louis thought he must have still been dreaming when he saw how beautiful Harry looked, all wrapped up in a brown leopard print blanket with his headscarf still messily tied around his head. He looked angelic under the small light and the shining moon.

“Just sitting…thinking.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Harry stuck his right hand out from under the blanket and patted the spot next to him. Louis wasted no time in sitting down.

“What you thinking about?”

Harry took a black cup that was on the next step below, on the opposite side of Louis, and took a drink. “I couldn’t sleep, so I made myself some tea-chamomile helps me sleep sometimes- and I thought I’d finish the rest of these while I was at it…Want some?” he said offering Louis a small plate of snickerdoodles.

“No thanks,” Louis said, patting his tummy. “As much as I love them Harry, I think I had waaay too many.”

Harry smiled and took another drink. “And…” he began. “I was thinking about how ironic it is that the two times I have been here, I was running away.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Running away?”

“Well, escaping I guess.”

Louis once again stayed silent until Harry was ready to tell him more.

“My dad…he…um, he used to hit my mum. Friends, family- everyone used to tell her to leave him, but he would always say that it would never happen again so she always stayed. Until…he caught me and Gemma playing. She had helped me put on one of her dresses and was putting flowers in my hair when he saw us. He yelled at her for doing that, and he called me a bunch of names and…he hit me for the first time. When Gem tried to help me, he hit her too.”

“I’m so sorry, Harry. I would have never guessed.”

Louis thought about how brave Harry was even at 7 years old, and how ridiculous it was that he had once thought that his life was bad because he didn’t get to spend his 10th birthday with a 5 foot mouse.

“That was when my mum finally got the courage to leave.” Harry continued. “She kept calm in front of him, put on a brave face, but once he left for work she cried and cried and apologized to us. And I didn’t know it at the time, but she took every last bit of her savings and brought us out here. Now I know that her whole family had gotten so tired of telling her to leave him that they didn’t even speak to her anymore. And she didn’t want to intrude on any of her friends’ Christmases, so this is where we ended up. ..She wanted us to have somewhat of a normal Christmas, and it was. It was actually the best one we had had in years.”

“I’m so sorry.” Louis repeated. “I had no idea.”

“Exactly. And you still did everything you could to make it better, without even knowing that there was something wrong…It was the first time anyone other than Mum and Gem stood up for me.”

“It was no big deal, Harry.”

“Maybe not to you…” Harry bit his lip and inhaled a deep breath. “You know, I always knew you’d come back to me.”

Louis scoffed. Acting indifferently was his defense mechanism when things began to get too real.

“Really, now? What makes you say that?”

“It was fate. Destiny. Whatever you want to call it.”

“You believe in that?”

“Sure do. If my mum hadn’t finally done something, if we hadn’t left when we did, I wouldn’t have met you…and I’m pretty sure things would have ended really badly for the three of us. I always wanted to see you again, and I just thought that if it was meant to be that it would happen eventually, somehow.”

“Please don’t tell me you genuinely believe you had to get cheated on in order for us to meet again.”

“I believe…that everything happens for a reason.”

“Getting deep aren’t we, Curly? I don’t know why anyone would think a 4 year relationship had to end just so they could see me one more time.”

“You don’t get it, do you Louis?”

Louis raised his eyebrows, surprised at Harry’s sudden change in tone. “No, I don’t Harry, so please tell me more.”

“I don’t think you understand how much you mean to me. And how much you have helped me get through, whether you chose to acknowledge it or not.”

Louis just scratched the back of his neck and listened, unable to say anything.

“I was a scared little seven year old, terrified of everything. And you gave me confidence. This…” Harry said sticking a hand out of his blanket to point to himself. “I’m happy with who I am because _you,_ a boy I had barely met, told me I wasn’t weird even though my own father had just hit me for being myself. And I believed you. And I thought about you _a lot_.”

As always, Louis kept quiet.

“What would have happened earlier today? If Niall hadn’t returned at that exact moment?”

Louis shrugged. “I don’t know, H. I don’t know what you mean.”

“You said you wanted to taste.”

“The lip balm. I put some on, too… the first time we were here, remember?”

“I don’t think that’s what you were talking about.” Harry said, clearly losing patience.

“Oh, really Harry? Then what was I talking about? Please enlighten me because I’m sure you probably know me better than I do.”

“You wanted to taste me.” Harry said bluntly.

Louis laughed. “Yeah…you caught me.” he joked.

“Look me in the eyes and deny it, Louis…and don’t hide behind your sarcasm. Tell me I’m wrong. And if you can do that, I will believe you and I will let it go.”

“Ok.” Louis began. “I was talking about the lip balm, Harry. I wanted to taste-”

Harry cut him off by climbing onto Louis’ lap. Louis was frozen as he watched Harry hold the blanket with one hand and dig into his pocket with the other. He brought out the infamous lip balm and put some on. Harry then licked his lips and used both hands to pull part of the blanket around Louis, bringing them even closer together.

“Let’s try that again, Louis.”

Louis swallowed, unable to move or take his eyes off of Harry’s glistening lips.

“Look me in the eyes…” Harry’s lowered his voice, which was also a lot softer now. “And tell me that this has all been in my head…That you don’t want me.”

Louis had been strong up until this point. He had been able to hide his feelings for Harry for years, but there was nothing, no one standing in his way now. Feeling a sudden bolt of courage, he put a hand on the back of Harry’s neck and pulled him in, crashing their lips together.

“I want you…” Louis said when he pulled away, before pulling Harry back in. “You are right…” Louis spoke in between kisses. “I _was_ talking about your lips…I lied…the tattoo _is_ for you…I think about you all the time…” Louis pecked Harry’s lips once more before pulling away and looking into his eyes. “I love you, Harry.”

Louis immediately regretted what he had said when he saw how wide Harry’s eyes got. “I wasn’t expecting the last one.” Harry confessed.

“I’m sorry. It slipped out. But you wanted the truth and there it is. I…”

Harry shut him up with a kiss. Louis was lost in his lips and the sweet taste of honey. Harry tilted his head to deepen the kiss and let Louis’ tongue slip into his mouth.

Harry let out a small moan that sent chills down Louis’ spine as their tongues rubbed messily together. Louis put his hands on Harry’s hips and dug his fingers in when he felt Harry grind down. He involuntarily bucked his own hips up to match Harry’s movements and he should have been embarrassed by how fast he reached full hardness, but he had wanted this for far too long to care.

“Bedroom.” Harry panted, breaking the kiss and rolling his hips once more.

They were back in their room in mere seconds. Louis pushed him backwards until they reached Harry’s bed. Harry collapsed on top of it, pulling Louis down with him.

Louis felt dizzy with the sudden rush of adrenaline as his mind tried to catch up with what was happening.

They spent a few more seconds grinding into each other and panting and moaning into their sloppy kisses. Louis was desperate for anything and thought that he had to act fast before he finished in his pants.

“Want to suck your cock.” He said against Harry’s lips, wanting nothing more than to please him and completely erase all of Harry’s thoughts and memories of past lovers.

“Yes, fuck yes.” Harry groaned.

Louis moved from Harry’s lips to his jawline, kissing it feverishly before moving further down to his neck, where he gently nipped at the soft skin. He loved the reaction he was getting from Harry, but he wanted more. Louis trailed kisses down to Harry’s skin that peeked out nicely from his V-neck. He sucked some bruises into his collarbones, licking over the skin and admiring his work. He then tugged at the ends of Harry’s shirt and the younger boy quickly sat up and threw it off.

“Please, Louis.” Harry said, already sounding so far gone.

“Please, what baby?” Louis spoke as he kissed down Harry’s bare tummy.

“Please…Need you.”

Louis licked his lips, his mouth watering at the sight of Harry’s hard cock clearly outlined in the tight black jeans he wore even to sleep. Louis palmed at himself because although he had enough room to breathe in his trackies, he was still painfully hard.

Louis licked at the skin above Harry’s jeans, causing him to buck his hips upwards.

“Be patient, love.” Louis said teasingly.

“ _Louis_.”  

He carefully undid the button and then pulled down the zipper while his tongue continued to work on Harry’s tummy, leaving wet kisses from one side to the other.

Harry was quickly losing it, already feeling like he was going to burst. He dug his fingers into Louis’ feathery hair, trying to urge him to speed things up a little.

He got the opposite of what he was hoping for. Louis stopped licking and sat up on his knees.

Louis stared at Harry for a moment before moving further up his body and finding his lips again. He kissed him slowly and sweetly before moving a hand up to Harry’s hair. Louis broke the kiss but kept his face close to Harry’s looking him in the eyes as he pulled his headscarf off.

“I think we should put this to good use, don’t you?”

Harry looked at him with a bit of confusion and curiosity. It was when Louis sat up again, grabbed both of Harry’s arms, and put them over his head that he realized what Louis had in mind. He began to tie the scarf around, earning a small, desperate whimper from Harry.

Once Louis was satisfied with the binding around Harry’s wrists, he pinned them down into the pillow and leaned forward to press another kiss to those lips he was growing so accustomed to.

“No touching, okay babe? I’m going to take care of you, now.”

Harry moaned at the intense pleasure he was already feeling from having Louis on top of him, hearing those words, and from the pressure on his wrists. He had been dying to try something like this for so long, but since Jeremy was never the adventurous type in bed, he had never voiced his thoughts. He couldn’t believe that he got to do this for the first time with Louis. It was driving him crazy and he wanted more, wanted everything with Louis.

He looked down at Louis who was now pulling his jeans off. Harry lifted his hips up to help him get it done faster. Once they were completely off, Louis threw them on the floor and spread Harry’s legs settling down in between them.

Louis then hooked his fingers on the sides of Harry’s skin tight boxer briefs and looked up at Harry as both their hearts raced with anticipation. He slowly pulled the briefs down, never breaking eye contact.

Louis looked down as soon as Harry’s cock had sprung free. “Fuck.” It was long and thick and leaking and Louis couldn’t wait to wrap his lips around it.

“Want my mouth now, baby?” Louis said in a raspy voice, as he gently began to rub the tip of Harry’s cock over his lips, spreading the precum from side to side.

“Yes.” Harry said in what sounded almost like a sob. “Yes.” He sobbed again, shutting his eyes and nodding. “Please.”

That was all Louis needed. Without further warning, he took the head in his mouth humming at the feeling of Harry’s thickness on his tongue. The whimpers, moans and chants of ‘yes, yes, yes’ that were coming from Harry’s mouth only motivated him to take him in further. Louis took him in halfway, bobbing his head for a moment, before pulling away to kitten lick the head and rub his tongue firmly over the slit.

Harry was a mess, arching his back and gasping loudly, asking for more of Louis. Louis was happy to comply, but nearly choked when Harry began to moan “fuck me.”

Louis continued to hum around Harry’s dick and let out a few moans himself, caused by just the thought of sex with Harry. He stuck his hand in his pants and began to tug at himself as countless thoughts rushed through his mind within seconds. He would love to do it all with Harry. Harry, who he had loved in silence for years. Harry, who he had cried for and gotten drunk over more times than he could count. But, he didn’t want to be Harry’s rebound. As stupid as it sounded, he would rather not have him at all than to have him once and then never again.

Louis had had a lot of sex, but it hadn’t meant anything in 8 years, since his first boyfriend left him. Harry was everything and he wouldn’t be able to spend only one night with him. So, he just sucked harder, pretending he hadn’t heard the younger lad and hoping that Harry wouldn’t be hurt. He hollowed his cheeks and took Harry in almost all the way, wrapping his free hand around the base.

All that could be heard were the pretty sounds of pleasure coming from Harry and the obscene slurping sounds coming from Louis.

“Lou…gonna come soon.” Harry warned breathlessly.

Louis pulled away with a pop and spit running messily down his chin. “In my mouth, yeah? Come for me, Harry. Want to taste more of you.”

And with that, Harry let out one last soft whimper and dug his nails into the headscarf that bound him. Louis quickly put his cock back in his mouth, just in time to have Harry shooting his cum down his throat. Louis came into his own hand seconds later as he swallowed all that Harry gave him and licked his lips with his mind still in a daze.

“Good?” Louis asked brushing his wet lips over Harry’s. The younger boy just nodded, with his teeth still biting down tightly on his swollen bottom lip.

“Really good.”

Louis removed the scarf and peppered small kisses over Harry’s wrists. He then bent down to give him one more kiss. “Goodnight, H.” he said getting up.

“Lou.” Harry stopped him by grabbing on to his hand. “Stay…please.”

“The bed’s too small, Harry.”

“Be my big spoon, we’ll fit.”

There was no way Louis could ever refuse that offer. Harry turned on his side with his back towards Louis. Louis lied down on his side as well, pressing his chest against Harry’s back. He threw an arm around Harry and Harry hummed contentedly in response.

“Everything happens for a reason Louis…”  Harry mumbled sleepily.

Louis pressed a kiss to the back of Harry’s head. “I’m starting to believe you. Goodnight Harry.”

 

Louis woke up later that day with a face full of hair. The events that took place just hours before rushed back into his head and he tightened his grip around the boy in his arms. It had been years since he last woke up with someone next to him and it made him feel so good that it scared him a little. It had never felt so right with anyone before and he feared that this would be a one night thing.

Louis stayed still until Harry began to shift around. Louis was nervous. He hoped that Harry wouldn’t regret anything.

“Morning.” He said simply.

Harry turned around completely and faced Louis. “Morning, Lou.” he replied with a smile and drowsy eyes.

Before Louis could say anything else, Harry pressed his lips to his. He captured Louis’ bottom lip, sucking on it gently. It didn’t take long for the kiss to become heated. Harry stuck a leg in between Louis’ thighs and began to rub against him, causing Louis to turn into a squirming, horny mess.

“Hey lads.” came Niall’s voice from the door followed by a light knock. “We’re going to that pancake place a half hour down the road, you coming?”

Louis pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling Harry to stay quiet. He got up and did his best to hide his very obvious morning boner. Harry got under the covers, facing away from the door and stayed still as Louis opened it.

“Morning, Niall.” Louis whispered. “Harry’s still sleeping. You guys go on ahead without us, I will stay with him.” he said trying to keep it as cool as possible.

“K,” Niall shrugged. “See you later.”

Louis shut the door and rushed back to the bed. They kissed slowly and lazily and Louis got lost again in the way Harry’s hands felt on him, pressed to his cheeks as they kissed, on his hips, on his lower back as they slid even lower and on his skin as they slid under his shirt. Harry ran his fingers softly over Louis’ waistline and Louis was desperate for any sort of friction between them.

“Do you think Zayn and Liam would notice if we borrow a couple of things?” Harry asked.

Louis got even harder once he realized what Harry was talking about. “You mean…”

Harry nodded yes.

“I don’t know, Harry. Maybe.”

In the end, they settled for a shower. They took turns washing each other and even though it wasn’t sex, Louis had never done something that felt so intimate. Harry pressed his chest on to Louis’ back and began to trail kisses down his neck. Louis leaned his head sideways to give Harry better access.

“So beautiful, Lou.”

Louis took it all in, wanting to memorize every second of what was happening and what had already taken place. In the back of his mind, he was still thinking that this was all way too good to be true. Things were never this perfect for him when it came to relationships, and it was almost like he was waiting for Harry to snap out of it, for him to wake up and the dream to end.

But it just kept getting better.

Harry wrapped his arms around Louis’ smaller frame and they just stood there under the running shower for who knows how long- Louis had lost track of time as soon as Harry had woken up wanting to kiss him again. The water was probably quite cold by now but there was no way Louis could notice when he felt like every single cell in his body was in flames as Harry slowly ran his hands up and down his side and finally rested them on his waist.

Louis felt Harry’s growing erection behind him and when Harry brought one of his hands down and wrapped it around Louis’ aching cock, Louis’ first instinct was to push back against Harry, who groaned at the contact.

Harry, in turn, began to move his hips forward, rubbing against Louis’ bum as he slowly pumped his fist up and down his entire length. Louis responded by throwing his head back and creating a nice rhythm as he pushed back against Harry’s hard cock and thrust forward into his hand.

“I could come just like this.” Harry said in a deep, raspy, lust-filled voice. “Just by touching you, hearing your pretty little moans, tasting your skin.”

Harry sucked into Louis neck and Louis was so gone he was glad Harry was holding him because he was sure he was trembling.

“Your body is so perfect. You’re so perfect.” Harry said into his ear as he began to rub and pinch one of Louis’ nipples with his free hand.

Louis moaned even louder. “Harry…I’m close.”

“I haven’t had sex with any other guy in almost 5 years, Louis…I want you to be the first.”

As much as Louis loved the sound of that, he didn’t like that Harry had brought up his long term relationship, especially at a moment like this. He chose to ignore it and let the shower drown out any thoughts of Harry using him just to get over Jeremy.

“So many things I want to do to you, want you to do to me.” Harry said as he moved his hand painfully slow, teasing the head of Louis’ leaking cock.

“Like what?” Louis managed to croak out. He had never been a fan of talking during any type of sexual act, but _fuck_ this was working for him.

“Want you to tie me up just like last night…and fuck me till I’m begging you to let me come.”

Louis groaned, letting Harry’s words paint a picture in his head as his hand began to gain speed again.

“Want you to ride me, want to see your perfect little body bouncing on my cock.”

Louis couldn’t take it anymore and he wasn’t sure how he would leave these woods knowing Harry had ruined him for all other men. No one could ever come close. It was all so much and not enough at the same time.

Harry tugged faster at Louis’ cock and slowly grinded his hips forward so Louis could feel how hard he made him. He rubbed Louis’ slit and spread the precum, sensing that Louis was seconds away from exploding.

“Want to eat you out slowly while you pull my hair to make my tongue go deeper…”

“Ah,” Louis let out one last desperate moan before his whole body shook as he came into Harry’s hand.

Harry kissed Louis’ neck as he came down from his orgasm while simultaneously jerking himself off behind him. It was over within a matter of seconds and Louis panted heavily as he felt Harry’s hot cum spill onto his lower back and ass. Harry bit down on Louis’ neck as he rode his own high.

“Eating you out brought you over the edge huh?” Harry said once Louis had turned around to face him and Harry put his hands back on his hips. “I know what’s first on my list, then.”

Louis felt like a teenager again as he continued to kiss the taller lad without a care in the world, giggling into each other’s mouths for no apparent reason as they stood under the now icy cold water.

When they got out and were back in their room, Harry noticed Louis shivering with goosebumps all over his tan skin. He went up behind Louis and wrapped his huge arms around him, pulling him in close and whispering “Come here so I can keep you warm.”

Louis couldn’t remember the last time he had been so happy.

After they got dressed, they went downstairs where Louis prepared some tea and Harry made egg on toast.

After they had finished eating, they moved from the table to the living room sofa. It was comfortably quiet until Harry decided to say something.

“Lou?”

“Hmm?” Louis hummed as he took a sip of his tea.

“Can you tell me about your tattoo? You said it was for me?”

Louis nodded. “Yes Little Fawn. I got it for you…” He paused for a bit. “I got it the day you announced your engagement. I kept telling myself I was just depressed because everyone was getting married or engaged and I was still alone. But then…I got drunk. And I wanted to call you. And I just kept thinking about how _he_ would call you the _stupidest_ most ridiculous pet names, and in my drunken state, I thought you were mine first. That I was the first to give you a dumb pet name. So I got this done that night…You know Harry, I never liked him. There was always something about him that just drove me insane. But it wasn’t until that night that I realized that the reason I didn’t like him was because I was in love with you, and he had you, and all I could do was watch.”

Harry got up from his spot and straddled Louis, facing him and putting his arms around his neck.

“You’re in love with me.” Harry said in more of a statement than a question.

“I am.” Louis admitted. “I’m sorry. I know it’s so soon and you just got out of a serious relationship but-”

“Shut up.” Harry said before leaning in to kiss him. “If five years ago I would have thought that you felt something, even the slightest bit of affection for me, I wouldn’t have thrown away four years of my life. I would have picked you over anyone.”

Louis sighed, silently mourning all the time and love that had been wasted. “And I would have saved myself from countless walks of shame and my parents’ disapproval…My mum adores you by the way.”

Harry’s smile grew impossibly brighter. “Do you, like, keep her updated on my life or something?”

“Oh yeah. She asks about you all the time. She loves you and I think she’s always known that I do too…even before I admitted it to myself.”

“My mum asks about you too.”

There was a small silence before they continued.

“So…” Louis said. “We’re here now. It took us years, but here we are.”

Harry softly ran his slips over Louis’, barely touching. “We’re here.” He repeated.  

Just as they were beginning to properly kiss- because their friends had perfect timing- the door opened.

“Oh my…Wow, didn’t see _this_ coming.” They heard Liam say.

Harry kept his arms around Louis’ neck and threw his head backwards to see the upside down shocked faces of the three men staring at them.

“Hi boys!” He said gleefully. “Guess who isn’t heartbroken anymore?”

Louis just ran his hands over Harry’s hips and stared at him with almost silly-looking fond eyes.

Harry got up and sat down next to Louis, who put a hand over his, waiting for someone to say something.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Niall finally said. “You guys, too?” Is this because I left first when we were kids? You all paired up without me?”

“You have a girlfriend!” Louis said loudly.

“Yeah, but…I still feel left out.” Niall mumbled.

After they told Liam, Zayn and Niall a little of what had happened and they congratulated them for as Niall put it “getting their shit together” the five of them spent some time talking, enjoying their last day at the cabin. Before they knew it, it was time for them to pack up.

Harry and Louis hadn’t talked about where they stood relationship wise and Louis didn’t really know how to bring it up so he had been pushing it back the whole day.

But now, he was putting his bags in the car and the other boys were just about ready to leave.

He heard footsteps walking up behind him and he turned around to see Harry.

“Ready to go, Lou?”

Louis nodded. He was far from ready, though.

Harry reached out a hand and put it on Louis’ face cupping his cheek. “The last time you left me here, I didn’t see you for 20 years.”

“That won’t happen again, Harry. I promise.” Louis said, clearing some of Harry’s hair from his smiling face.

Harry reached into the pocket of his jeans. “One more time before you go?” he asked holding up the lip balm.

Louis smiled “Of course Little Fawn.”

Harry closed his eyes as soon as the balm touched him. Louis couldn’t help but stare at his lips, beautifully red and swollen due to the bruising kisses they shared from the moment they had woken up to just a few minutes ago.

Harry opened his eyes once Louis had finished applying a thin coat of honey gloss. Louis loved those eyes more than he had ever loved anyone else’s and he didn’t want to live his life without them.

“Move in with me.” Louis blurted out.

Harry’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.

“I know it’s so soon. You just got out of a committed, long term relationship. But at least you’d have somewhere to stay other than your sister’s couch. You could have your own room, and if you want we can try just being friends first. There’s no rush, H. I just…I seem to have so much you know? I have an amazing business, I make a decent amount of money, and I have a really nice home and a lovely cat.” Louis chuckled at himself as he rambled on and on. “But, I want someone to share that with. And I don’t need another failed relationship or another drunken hook up to know that I want you. I’ve always wanted you…”

Louis stopped to take a breath and put a hand on Harry’s jaw. “I know it’s a big move, but you can work with me. Run one of my shops. Shit, I’d even help you start your own bakery if you prefer that…” Louis said, trying to sweeten the deal.

“Louis!” Harry interrupted what could have probably continued for quite a while. “It is a big move. It’s a big step. But you don’t have to bribe me. And I know it probably doesn’t seem like it, but I do want to take this slowly though. It’s just…I care about you. _A lot_ , Lou. I always have and I don’t want…Please don’t hurt me.” Harry finished sounding vulnerable and a little nervous.

“Never.” Louis said as they leaned in to each other, pressing their lips together.

“I do think that we have been just friends for far too long. I want to live with you.” Harry said smiling against Louis’ lips. “Can’t turn down the chance to live with Addie.”

Louis rubbed his lips against Harry’s and smiled back. “I knew that would convince you…But I don’t care what your reasons are, I just want you with me.”

It took them two decades, but Harry and Louis felt like they were _finally_ where they were supposed to be.

And Harry couldn’t believe it, but he was actually glad his wedding had been cancelled.


End file.
